Goodwood FoS 2023: McLaren to Celebrate 60th Anniversary with Historic Racing Cars at the Festival of Speed

In honour of its 60th anniversary, McLaren Racing will showcase a stunning lineup of classic vehicles at next month's Goodwood Festival of Speed. At Goodwood, the company overcame Bruce's tragic death and forged its future. Goodwood is a suitable monument to McLaren's glorious history because of its historical importance. Given the heritage of the brand and the fact that Bruce McLaren preferred Goodwood as a testing location in the early years of the company, it is only appropriate for McLaren to take a minute to reflect at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. The Hill will play home to some very remarkable reunions as a host of McLaren notables phase back into the cockpit. These reunions will be quite memorable for everyone involved. 

Goodwood FoS 2023: Historic McLaren Cars at Goodwood

There will be a lot of happy tears shed on the hill run when former McLaren drivers will reunite after years apart. Both Emerson Fittipaldi and Mika Häkkinen will be driving cars that won them championships; Fittipaldi in 1974 with the M23 and Häkkinen in 1999 with the magnificent MP4/14A.

The current McLaren Extreme E driver, Emma Gilmour, will be driving the massive M8D Can-Am vehicle, while Emanuele Pirro will be behind the wheel of an MP4/2B, the same car that Alain Prost and Niki Lauda raced in 1984.

There will be a static exhibition of the remarkable MP4/4, the most successful design in Formula 1 history to compete in a full season. There will also be a McLaren Extreme E exhibition vehicle and an F1 show car with the current Triple Crown livery.

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Goodwood FoS 2023: Sebastian Vettel to Drive Historic F1 Cars at Goodwood

Several cars from the ex-Red Bull, Ferrari, and Aston Martin driver's personal collection will be displayed on the Goodwood Hill, including Nigel Mansell's championship-winning Williams FW14B and Ayrton Senna's McLaren MP4/8 from 1993. To emphasise the 'Race Without A Trace' effort, the cars will only run on environmentally friendly fuels. This was first shown at the 2022 British Grand Prix, when Seb drove the same 1992 Williams FW14B that he will drive again at Goodwood. In recognition of Vettel's career, this year's event will also feature a showcase of his vehicles.

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What is the Goodwood Festival of Speed?

Every year, the Festival of Speed takes place at Goodwood, a spectacular estate in the heart of the English countryside. The FoS is a weekend of uninterrupted horsepower, automotive wonders, glamour, socialising, and is generally regarded as one of the finest running events in the world.

Several interesting activities are planned for 2023 to commemorate the Goodwood Motor Circuit's 75th anniversary and the festival's 30th year. Goodwood will hold the Festival of Speed from Thursday, July 13 to Sunday, July 16, 2023. The most popular event is the well-known Sunday hillclimb. Goodwood 75 will include a hillclimb batch of automobiles covering this whole time period, from the Racing Years of the late 1940s to the present supercars of the twenty-first century.

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